Since my first concert in 1998, I have seen a lot of bands and rare are those whom I have not seen. Prong and Waltari are those rare bands who have never been to my home country, maybe they never will, so since I am on vacation and they are on the European Summer Clashes Tour 2023, there is no doubt I will be there. So, I was.
To be honest, I did not know what to expect from Waltari. For sure, I did not expect that crazy energy, fantastic performance, interaction with fans… Not just the music, but the whole package blew my mind and I hope all of all those who were at Musikzentrum. For me, this was a great musical adventure. Waltari is the mish mash of every single music genre you could imagine. The wizards from Helsinki unite the incompatible. Their free spirit, energy and ingenuity are the key to success. Diversity is their trademark. While Jani Hölli and Kärtsy Hatakka are delivering amazing energy and a lot of fun on the stage, the rest of the band, although younger, are more serious and focused on music technique. 45 minutes of an amazing not concert, but a party that Waltari prepared for the fans is something that is hard to describe with words. You need to experience that. To tell you the truth, and I told the same to Ville Veikko Vehviläinen, I came to hear Prong. But the stars of the evening were Waltari who had better energy and better sound. Yes, as Ville said, those are totally different bands, but still… Hats off to the organizers of this tour because they proved that it is possible to join two diametrically opposite bands and make every single soul enjoy, to convince even the most stubborn ones to get out of their comfort zone. Exciting, cathartic, chaotic, mind-blowing show!
As a great fan of Danzig, of course, if I have the opportunity to hear and see someone who was a part of the band, naturally, I will do it. Although up on the stage was like in the sauna and picks were slipping out of Tommy’s hands, although at some moments it was hard to understand what is he saying between the songs, although some songs were hard to recognize without peeking to setlist (I do not know was that the problem with us in front line because we all had the same problem, or was it about the overall sound), smile on Tommy’s face, his interaction with fans, broken snare drum (as I saw it well), great energy (again), tell you all about the concert. And if you do not mind…
Ok, I admit, writing concert reports might make no sense, because, if someone wants to see/hear the band, they will do it. No words, videos, pics can describe that unique feeling. If I have a press or photo pass, my obligation is to write a report. But sometimes I just need to be a simple fan, enjoying the show without thinking about setlists, sound, lights… Although even then I have a need to write something. And that is something that I will write about now, some of those who were at this show will not like. Maybe it should be published as a column, not as a report, but in my magazine, I am my own boss, so…
I come from, as most people in the EU say to me lately, a third world country. I survived wars. I survived misery. I was hungry for music and shows for so many years. But, not just me, every other metal fan in my country, no matter if we react a bit like savages (not because we are, but because, as I wrote, we are hungry for music and music is our escape from brutal reality) will never, ever do what the people were doing at this show. Not in my craziest dreams I would steal! If the band members would like to give you a pick or drumstick or whatever, they will give it to you! You do not steal it from the microphone or if it slips off a musician’s hands. Do not tear off the setlist from the stage. Do not record the whole damn show just because if you do not put it on social media nobody will believe you were there. If you see a woman, think, maybe she is there because she really is into metal, not to be sexual objects. Shame on you who were stealing picks, setlists, hell knows what else that night! Shame on you who disrespected bands by putting cameras to their faces! Shame on you who disrespected women that night! Shame on you…
P.S. A few photos that I made are amateur taken by phone only for the purposes of this “report” which should not be written, but it was provoked to be written. Maybe it is written upside down, maybe it is not professional, maybe it is offensive, maybe it is confusing, because it was led by emotions (yes, I am still under the impression after five days). But as already written, I am my own boss.
With the hope that the bands still have their instruments, I salute you from the third world country.
